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L.A. Noire review
by Sebastian

L.A. Noire, an almost open world game set in the year 1947 puts you in the role of a police officer in the LAPD. You are tasked with solving crimes by searching locations, finding clues, interrogating people and using your powers of deduction to make sense of what actually happened to ultimately find and arrest the perpetrator/s. It involves a lot of driving, either to get to locations or in pursuit of people fleeing by car. Apart from that, you also have to chase people on foot and sometimes just shoot it out, however the emphasis of the game is very much on the detective part - the shootouts are just easy action intermezzos. There are a couple of side missions and some collectible items strewn across the large accessible map. Usually, these ingredients, especially when the game is made by Rockstar, will lead to an easy blockbuster hit.
However, the game does have its ups and downs. The driving is enjoyable because it is in my opinion more difficult than in GTA - to really handle you car well, you need to combine braking and the handbrake efficiently when going around a corner. The town is beautifully designed and there is a lot to discover - but it feels like most of it is not used in cases or side missions. The soundtrack will annoying if you're not into that era's music, which I am not, but if you like movies from that period, you will find yourself right at home in the surroundings.
The centerpiece of the game of course is solving cases and most of this is done interviewing people and guessing from their answer, their mimics and the clues you have found whether they are saying the truth or whether they are lying and if so, whether you can prove that with some clue. I often found this annoyingly difficult and once you make a mistake, you have to restart from a checkpoint long before and replay all the stuff until the interrogation to get another shot. Thus, replayability is not a strength of this game.

I recommend this game especially if you have some historic interest in the time the game plays in and if you like a hard detective game. Otherwise, give it a try but expect that it might not be for you.

Other reviews14

Stellar. When in doubt, hit doubt
«Blew my mind»
a very good and imersive police open world made by rockstar. it takes a hit from the time, but it's a good experience.
«Sit back and relax»
«That ending!»
its ok. i mean id rather just play as the criminal but whatever. 6/10
doesn't totally nail the facial tells sort of thing that the whole game is kinda built around, and yet it is still fun and worth your time. 
One of Rockstars best works
«Underrated»
9.0/10
«Can’t stop playing»
«Underrated»
Underrated
«Underrated»
It’s nice to see Rockstar Games flex their muscles and make a game that isn’t as formulaic as Grand Theft Auto. This game checks off so many boxes for me: noir, period piece, detective work, a gripping narrative and much more. The game is set in Los Angeles in 1947, you play as Cole Phelps, a US Marine who returns home and takes work as a police officer. You play this character and witness his ups and downs as he navigates the scenes of crimes, his tumultuous past and personal life, as well as peer behind the scenes at how law enforcement worked or didn’t work in the 1940s. The graphics are good. Especially the facial capture technology that brings most of these characters to life. It is probably a little dated now and not that detailed, but it is still a remarkable thing to try and read these character’s faces as they lie or don’t lie during interviews. Sometimes the animation feels clunky. Cole moves and kind of feels like a box with arms and legs. John Marston and Nico Bellic had a fluidity to them that made them look and move and feel like human beings as you direct them and control their moves. Sometimes the texture details aren’t all that great, especially when it comes to buildings and other environments. The gameplay is good. As I mentioned, the movement and animation isn’t ideal, but gunfights are a little stale, chases were fun (both on foot and in cars), and other actions were kind of fun. The attention to detail that this game promotes and encourages is impressive. Crime scenes have to be thoroughly investigated for evidence that could make or break a case. Attention in interviews and what people say or do is also important. The voice work is amazing, most being veteran voice actors with some big names sprinkled in (John Noble). The aesthetic and visuals perfectly capture Los Angeles in the 1940s. The noir story is amazing dealing with the dour and depressing genre and also grappling with vice, scandal, redemption, corruption, the past and so many other elements that weave a very detailed and compelling story together. I do believe that this game could do without the side missions. They were entirely unnecessary and are too much of a distraction. I’m kind of sad that the spiritual successor to this game (The Whore of the Orient) was never made. But I suppose it just makes this game even more unique and special. I really want to see Rockstar get back to making games like this as well as their big titles like Red Dead and Grand Theft Auto.

Rating: 4/5
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«Time-tested»
«Underrated»
Translated by
Microsoft from Deutsch
Anyone who lies doesn't believe, no matter how much they warp their Face! The Content is on the Spot As an ambitious Policeman, solving cases is the Order of The day. You are a human Lie Detector and interrogate suspects who you transfer on the Basis of facial Facial facial facial facial facial expressions and thus solve the Case ... Or not;) Story Los Angeles of the 40s. Your Name is Cole Phelps and in The course of The strike Service you will soon be acquainted with your first Corpse. You are Fire and Flame in the Investigative Work and climb the Ladder of Success further and further. But Beware, whoever climbs high can also fall low. So you accompany Cole through all the Ups and Downs of his Career, through a golden Era consisting of Violence, Drugs and Corruption. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1135208708 Gameplay & Control Your controls Cole from the Third Person Perspective with Mouse and Keyboard or Gamepad. In addition, the Vibration feedback is added to the Latter, which signals you at Crime Scenes when there are "interesting" Objects nearby. The Console Origin cannot be denied on many Points, but with M & T you can master the Game without any major Difficulties. You May find the Control of the "Minigames" a bit bulky, which takes some Familiarization Time. Los Angeles is an Open World and offers plenty of Roads to Graze. But you do not do more than Drive from Tatatort A to Tatort B, but you do not, which can become a bit monotonous in the Long run. But You can also let your Partner get to the Wheel if you get bored of the Ride. A Brawl here, a Murder there, a Robbery around the Corner and a Psychopath in the Approach, there's always something for the Police to do. Apart from the crime scene investigations, the most important Element of the game is the Interviews or Interrogations. You have to use the Mimics to know if someone is telling the Truth or lying. With the Latter, you should also be able to provide the right Evidence, otherwise the Shot can quickly backfire. After all, it is saved by Autosave, so you usually have to repeat the whole Case if you want to completely complete the Meeting and make other Decisions. Storing The Possibility Manually would not, in my Opinion, do Gameplay any good either. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1139335767 Apart from these Activities, the Action is repeatedly supplemented with optional Action Sequences, in Sum one could say that we are playing a Kind of interactive Film here. Especially in the Key Scenes, we can usually do nothing more than just watch. Graphics & Sound 8 Years of Development Time and immense Costs for the elaborate facial Animations have broken the end of the Neck With The developer studio despite Sales in the Millions. Apart from that, the Game from the 2011 room still looks first class, precisely because of the Technology used. Only the Shadows can be a bit pixelated in some Cases. Good Weapon sounds, first-class spoken Dialogues, Interrogations & Co by well-known Actors as well as perfect Sound support at the Scene and During chase Jaws complete the Package. The Voiceover is only done in English, other Languages are subtitled. Scope Reclassify about 25h for the Main Story, here you have to solve 21 Cases in the Complete Edition. The individual Cases can also be called and repeated individually in the Conclusion to the Game. Apart from that, you still have the Opportunity to clear up 40 different Street Crimes. You can estimate 40h+ for 100% of all Content. Due to the different Starting possibilities for the Interrogations, there is also an increased Replay value. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1139335683 Other The Game has a 30 FPS lock, which you should not be able to unraven, otherwise the Dialogues can become asyncron. Sounds more Daramic than it is, the Game is also easily playable with the 30 FPS. FAZIT: Investigative Work in an intercoperative Film as a human Lie Detector in the L.A of the "40s. Interestingly designed Cases, however, due to the everlasting process but somewhat monotonous. It was Played in a Resolution of 3840x2160 (DSR) @ 30FPS on the following System: OS Win 10 Pro Build 1703 SSD Samsung 840 PRO CPU Intel Core I7 7700K GPU EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 GAMING Driver ForceWare 385.41 RAM 32GB-DDR4 3000 MHz Ch eers, Fletcher
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Loved it, if u like the Noir gender, this is a game u must play.